Rapid detection of microorganisms in food processing industry and clinical hospitals is becoming more important. Foodborne diseases affect as many as 81 million persons in the United States each year with an estimated annual cost of $8-10 billion (E, S.; R M, H.; F J, A.; R V, T.; M-A, W.; S L, R. 2011). Moreover, changes in lifestyle in the 21st century (e.g. more meals eaten outside the home) have increased the opportunities for transmission of pathogenic bacteria through foods (Smith, L. P.; Ng, S. W.; Popkin, B. M. Nutrition Journal 2013, 12, 45-45). Therefore, rapid methods for detecting microorganism and pathogenic bacteria can help prevent foodborne disease through better control of processed foods. The methods would have the ability to rapidly screen for quality control at a processing facility, which will reduce costs and expedite distribution of products. Conventional methods require isolation and identification after labor and time intensive enrichment and plating procedures which take more than 24 h.
Furthermore, target hybridization with a labeled nucleotide probe has become one of the most widely used methods for detection of sequence-specific DNA. Chemiluminescence, light emission by a chemical reaction, is an attractive analytical tool for detection and quantification of a wide variety of applications. Applications of chemiluminescence for nucleic acid detection have routinely used enzymes such as peroxidase to generate or enhance the chemiluminescence of luminol, however the use of enzymes can make such methods less desirable.